Happy Haul-idays from Chronicle Books and Your Neighborhood Librarian

Chronicle Books certainly goes out of its way to be ingratiating, don't you think? Chronicle includes the subversive little imprint that brought us Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (Quirk Books), as well as Blue Apple Books, who put out the very highest quality kids' books. In addition, their books are well-bound, beautifully printed, and use nice paper. PLUS their editorial staff seems to really function as curators.

Now, in addition to providing me with eye candy whenever I hit the New Books cart in the librarians' office, they've got a contest going: pick $500 worth of merch from their catalog, post it as a blog post, and you may win your list. And one of your commenters wins the list too. They call it Happy Haul-idays from Chronicle Books.

Now, of course I've done this with their Children's catalog, but this list? This list is MY list. Stuff for my family, friends, for myself. Cocktails, art, urban design. Enjoy. Comment for a chance to win.

	The Liberal Monument By Alexander D Architect Alexander D'Hooghe believes urban design has lost its way. Once among the most articulate and avant-garde of disciplines, the field now lacks, he suggests, the confidence necessary to address its most critical challenge—sprawl. In ... MORE
	Hot Type By Brett MacFadden and Scott Thorpe Hot Type + cloth + an iron = DIY clothing design. It's instantly gratifying to customize T-shirts, bags, or any other piece of fabric with these bold type-driven designs and custom created alphabets. Simple instructions explain how to ... MORE
	642 Things to Draw A rolling pin, a robot, a pickle, a water tower, a hammock, a wasp, a safety pin, a kiss. Budding artists and experienced sketchers alike will find themselves invigorated by this collection of offbeat, clever, and endlessly absorbing ... MORE
	The Map as Art By Katharine Harmon As seen in O: The Oprah Magazine, the New York Times Book Review, USA Today, Cool Hunting, and countless other media outlets, The Map as Art is available now in a paperback edition. This volume by ... MORE
	Art of McSweeney's By the Editors of McSweeney A novel with each cover hand-illustrated by the author. Literary journals bound by magnets, or designed to look like junk mail. The sharp wit, gorgeous design, and playful why not invention of independent literary publisher McSweeney's ... MORE
	The Pattern Sourcebook By Drusilla Cole This stunning picture book chronicles one hundred years of classic patterns, featuring designs in a wide variety of styles, art movements, and countries of origin to give an overview of surface design from the beginning of the last century to ... MORE
	Pictorial Webster's By John M. Carrera Featuring over 1,500 engravings that originally graced the pages of Webster's dictionaries in the 19th century, this chunky volume is an irresistible treasure trove for art lovers, designers, and anyone with an interest in visual history. ... MORE
	The Handy Book of Artistic Printing By Doug Clouse and Angela Voulangas During the late nineteenth century, letterpress printers, engravers, and lithographers boldly challenged the rational sobriety of traditional design by introducing intricate borders, corner embellishments, quirky typefaces, and ... MORE
	Angaza Afrika By Chris Spring The mission of this book is to illustrate Africa's immensely fertile artistic landscape. Africa has emerged from its colonial past and is asserting its own identity. African art is not only confined to the continent itself, but has spread ... MORE
	Made in India By Kalim Winata and Reed Darmon Indian design and style is enjoying a boom in popularity as more and more people discover its diverse charm and graphic invention. Kalim Winata and Reed Darmon (author of the popular Made in Japan and Made in China) have ... MORE
	Window Seat By Gregory Dicum Talk about a fresh perspective! Perched 35,000 feet in the air, Window Seat decodes the sights to be seen on any flight across North America. Broken down by region, this unusual guide features 70 aerial photographs; a fold-out map of North ... MORE
	The Worst-Case Scenario Almanac: Great Outdoors By David Borgenicht and Trey Popp Bears. Avalanches. Grill fires. The great outdoors is packed with perils, so be prepared from the moment you lace up your boots. With detailed instructions on how to get out of every kind of trouble in the wild, this new, dynamic almanac format in ... MORE
	Nature's Pharmacy Deck By The New York Botanical Garden Culled from the Nature’s Pharmacy exhibit at The New York Botanical Garden, this illustrated deck explains the healthful properties and uses of 50 (both historical and modern-day) herbs and plants. ... MORE
	Spice & Ice By Kara Newman Photographs by Antonis Achilleos From New York City to Los Angeles, top bars are serving up cocktails spiced with chiles, wasabi, ginger, and other fiery flavors. Spice & Ice brings this trend to the home bar with recipes for 70 tongue-tingling drinks, including ... MORE
	Bixology By Eve O'Neill and Doug "Bix" Biederbeck Photographs by Sheri Giblin From San Francisco supper club Bix comes this stylish miscellany for cocktail lovers, foodies, and arts aficionados. Packed with fun facts, fascinating lists, and bon mots, it also includes recipes for classic drinks and the bar foods that ... MORE
	Moleskine City Notebook New York The first guidebook you write yourself. The Bronx is up, the Battery's down, and the Moleskine City Notebook New York has space for everything in between. The Key Map summarizes the overall city layout , showing the sequence and ... MORE
	Sound Bingo By Kindermusik This sound-inspired game features 6 double-sided bingo cards, 100 vinyl game pieces, and a variety of sounds, from animals to musical instruments. Pop in the CD, identify the sounds, and find the corresponding picture on a card. The first to ... MORE
	MoMA Modern Play House Create a delightfully modern house with this innovative set of modular nesting boxes! Aspiring architects and designers of all ages can create modern spaces, arrange furniture and accessories, and pack it all up to go with this distinctive ... MORE
	Old Maid with Other Goose By J.otto Seibold It's the classic game of Old Maid featuring all the favorite Mother Goose characters from J.otto Seibold's Other Goose. Humpty Dumpty, Jack Be Nimble, Little Bo Peep, Miss Muffet, and Little Boy Blue all appear on 41 eye-popping ... MORE (Pre Ordered)
	Little Red Riding Hood/Caperucita Roja By the Brothers Grimm Illustrated by Pau Estrada Translated by James Surges Striking art accompanies this classic fairy tale that is now available in a Spanish/English dual-language edition. A beautiful addition to both home and classroom libraries. ... MORE
	My Garden By Mimi Luebbermann Photographs by Susie Cushner In gardening, there's nothing more frustrating than making the same mistake twice. Essential for gardeners of every skill level, this guided horticultural diary helps track successes and lessons learned. The undated journaling pages ... MORE
	Eat Me Keep track of dining experiences, food memories, and all things culinary with this stylish and handy journal designed especially for the food-obsessed. A clear vinyl cover makes this durable enough to withstand both extreme culinary ... MORE
	New York Notebook By Laurie Rosenwald Part guidebook, journal, and sketchbook, this vibrantly illustrated notebook includes more than 200 fun tips from a New York native; plus it has plenty of room for you to add info of your own. Not as overwhelming or structured as most ...